Volkswagen Names New Chief Of EV Development

With the after-effects of the diesel emission cheating scandal still being felt, Volkswagen has understandably been making a number of internal changes, in order to rehabilitate consumer confidence in the brand, amongst other things.

In that vein, the company recently named a new Chief of Electric Car Development by the name of Christian Senger — previously the head of the Automotive Systems and Technology division at Continental, reportedly.

Interestingly, while at Continental Senger was mostly involved in electronics development — with autonomous driving technologies being under his lead — suggesting that the company’s plans for electric vehicles (EVs) and self-driving technologies are closely intertwined. Understandably, as Tesla, Nissan, Apple, Google, and others are charging full speed ahead in that direction.

He started at Continental in September 2012, after a two-year stint at BMW, according to his LinkedIn profile, which also indicates that Senger was involved with the carmaker’s “i” electric-car division. Senger will head a vehicle-development division dedicated to battery-electric cars, as part of an overall restructuring of the Volkswagen organization.

Vehicle development for the Volkswagen brand will henceforth be divided into four groups based on vehicle type. In addition to the electric-car group, there will be groups for “Small,” “Compact,” and a “Mid-Size and Full-Size” cars. Each group encompasses both cars and SUVs.

Despite this move, and other recent ones, Volkswagen’s EV plans remain somewhat undefined. The company did reveal that it intends to release an all-electric version of the Phaeton sedan sometime around 2020, but beyond that it’s hard to tell how serious the company is. Volkswagen hasn’t really been inspiring confidence as of late.

Once Apple and Google begin releasing autonomous EVs… I wouldn’t be surprised to see a bloodbath, with many of the traditional automakers such as Volkswagen taking quite a beating.

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.

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